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The Gorge zip line tours debut this weekend

Bonnie Zelinskie, 84, a resident at Tryon Estates in Polk County, takes a ride on Green River Adventures' The Gorge zip line canopy tour Friday morning. The Gorge has an 1100 foot elevation drop over 11 zip lines, making it one of the steepest zip line tours in the country.

MIKE DIRKS/TIMES-NEWS

By Gary GlancyTimes-News correspondent

Published: Friday, May 17, 2013 at 3:30 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, May 17, 2013 at 2:21 p.m.

Valerie Stilwill knew she wanted to do something memorable to celebrate a half-century on the planet. Like a 50th wedding anniversary or class reunion, a 50th birthday is pretty special.

Facts

Want a go on The Gorge?

Zip line canopy tours on The Gorge are offered on the hour from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. Cost is $89 per person, or $79 per person for children ages 10 and 11 and for groups of eight or more. Children must be 10 or older and weigh at least 70 pounds; adults must weigh no more than 250 pounds.The Gorge outpost is at 166 Honey Bee Drive, Saluda. To make reservations and for more information, call 828-749-2500.

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A trip to Vegas was a consideration at one time for the Hendersonville resident, but then her focus turned more adventuresome during a conversation over dinner with a girlfriend one night: How about zip lining?

“It's kind of a right of passage,” Stilwill said of turning 50, which she did on April 16. “And everybody I know has wanted to do something special for it, or something exciting, something different, be it go on a vacation that they've always wanted to take, get a tattoo — a lot of people get tattoos — and I thought a zip line would be fun and exciting.”

And what better timing? This week Stilwill and her friend booked a spot in June with Western North Carolina's newest outdoor adventure, a zip line canopy tour that takes thrill seekers soaring over the Green River Gorge in Saluda.

Presented by the owners of Green River Adventures, Sara and Tim Bell, The Gorge officially opens Saturday, with a grand opening scheduled next weekend.

Eighty-four-year-old adventurist Bonnie Zelenskie, a resident of Tryon Estates retirement community in Tryon, was granted the ceremonial maiden voyage on the course Friday morning.

Sara Bell said she has booked reservations all the way into October already, with nearly every tour until then — on the hour from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week — starting to fill. People are coming from across Western North Carolina and the Southeast and from as far away as California, she added.

”It's a huge deal for the area,” said Libbie Johnson, Polk County's economic tourism development director. “It capitalizes on Polk County's natural assets and outdoor adventure industry, which we think is very important to our economy here. The other thing that we're excited about is the kind of tourists that this will attract, which is usually young, athletic families — those are the people that we really want to come here.”

The Gorge takes visitors in a secured harness down 6,500 feet of cable — or about one mile — with a vertical descent of about 1,100 feet through a series of tree-based platforms. It features 11 zip lines, three rappels and one sky bridge.

Sara Bell said the builders of the course, Challenge Design Innovations, scoped out other certified courses throughout the U.S., and “We feel confident in saying that it is in fact the steepest, fastest canopy tour absolutely on the East Coast and probably in the country.

“And really, I think, what has taken us by surprise is just how big the exposure is and the huge views people get. There are two platforms in particular that when you leave on the zip, you leave the canopy on the edge of the gorge and you're just flying right over the Green River Gorge. It is pretty phenomenal.”

So is the fact, Bell added, that great care was taken to preserve almost all the trees in the certified old-growth forest, which comprises the bulk of the property on which the tour operates and where one tree has been dated to the early 1840s.

More good news: The project is expected to create about two dozen jobs, and in a booming industry that local officials believe will be at the center of drawing the next generation of tourists here to want to live, work and retire.

“In Polk County, when you hire 25 or 30 people, that makes you a major employer here — it's a huge deal,” Johnson said. “Western North Carolina has really targeted the outdoor adventure industry as a growth sector. That particular area of businesses has seen unprecedented growth, even during the (economic) downturn.”

And as Zelenskie — and Stilwill — have proven, it's never too late to join the action.

“It just looked breathtaking and exciting, though I have to say I'm nervous,” Stilwill said. “Even though I say I've been a roller coaster girl my whole life and I'm not typically afraid of heights, I'm still nervous because I've never done it before. But I'm excited, and I'm really going to try to be brave and go for it.”

<p>Valerie Stilwill knew she wanted to do something memorable to celebrate a half-century on the planet. Like a 50th wedding anniversary or class reunion, a 50th birthday is pretty special. </p><p>A trip to Vegas was a consideration at one time for the Hendersonville resident, but then her focus turned more adventuresome during a conversation over dinner with a girlfriend one night: How about zip lining?</p><p>“It's kind of a right of passage,” Stilwill said of turning 50, which she did on April 16. “And everybody I know has wanted to do something special for it, or something exciting, something different, be it go on a vacation that they've always wanted to take, get a tattoo — a lot of people get tattoos — and I thought a zip line would be fun and exciting.”</p><p>And what better timing? This week Stilwill and her friend booked a spot in June with Western North Carolina's newest outdoor adventure, a zip line canopy tour that takes thrill seekers soaring over the Green River Gorge in Saluda. </p><p>Presented by the owners of Green River Adventures, Sara and Tim Bell, The Gorge officially opens Saturday, with a grand opening scheduled next weekend.</p><p>Eighty-four-year-old adventurist Bonnie Zelenskie, a resident of Tryon Estates retirement community in Tryon, was granted the ceremonial maiden voyage on the course Friday morning.</p><p>Sara Bell said she has booked reservations all the way into October already, with nearly every tour until then — on the hour from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week — starting to fill. People are coming from across Western North Carolina and the Southeast and from as far away as California, she added.</p><p>”It's a huge deal for the area,” said Libbie Johnson, Polk County's economic tourism development director. “It capitalizes on Polk County's natural assets and outdoor adventure industry, which we think is very important to our economy here. The other thing that we're excited about is the kind of tourists that this will attract, which is usually young, athletic families — those are the people that we really want to come here.”</p><p>The Gorge takes visitors in a secured harness down 6,500 feet of cable — or about one mile — with a vertical descent of about 1,100 feet through a series of tree-based platforms. It features 11 zip lines, three rappels and one sky bridge.</p><p>Sara Bell said the builders of the course, Challenge Design Innovations, scoped out other certified courses throughout the U.S., and “We feel confident in saying that it is in fact the steepest, fastest canopy tour absolutely on the East Coast and probably in the country. </p><p>“And really, I think, what has taken us by surprise is just how big the exposure is and the huge views people get. There are two platforms in particular that when you leave on the zip, you leave the canopy on the edge of the gorge and you're just flying right over the Green River Gorge. It is pretty phenomenal.”</p><p>So is the fact, Bell added, that great care was taken to preserve almost all the trees in the certified old-growth forest, which comprises the bulk of the property on which the tour operates and where one tree has been dated to the early 1840s.</p><p>More good news: The project is expected to create about two dozen jobs, and in a booming industry that local officials believe will be at the center of drawing the next generation of tourists here to want to live, work and retire.</p><p>“In Polk County, when you hire 25 or 30 people, that makes you a major employer here — it's a huge deal,” Johnson said. “Western North Carolina has really targeted the outdoor adventure industry as a growth sector. That particular area of businesses has seen unprecedented growth, even during the (economic) downturn.”</p><p>And as Zelenskie — and Stilwill — have proven, it's never too late to join the action.</p><p>“It just looked breathtaking and exciting, though I have to say I'm nervous,” Stilwill said. “Even though I say I've been a roller coaster girl my whole life and I'm not typically afraid of heights, I'm still nervous because I've never done it before. But I'm excited, and I'm really going to try to be brave and go for it.”</p>